33. The secretariat briefed WP.29 on the outcomes of the eighty-fourth session of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC). This session celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Inland Transport Committee and during this session the ITC discussed the critical role of Road Transport on Climate Action. ITC invited all WPs to submit any ongoing communications and plans as it relates to Climate Action by October 2022.
34. He highlighted the following ITC decisions with relevance to WP.29:
52. Endorsed the activities of and progress made by WP.29, as listed in ECE/TRANS/2022/22.”
35. On request by France, the secretariat informed WP.29 of the two side events organized by the section back-to-back with the seventy-fifth Anniversary of ITC. He introduced the topics of the side event on “Used Cars for Africa” held on 21 February and “Automation, Connectivity and E-Mobility held on 23 February 2022. Explaining the side event on “Used Cars for Africa” he stated that it comprised of two sections, the first covered progress report on the UNRSF project of “Safer and Cleaner Used Vehicles for Africa” and recent developments in Africa and it included presentations from the project partners, (UNEP, UNECE, CITA and FIA) with project updates, recent developments and proposed future activities. He further explained that the second half of this event was a round table discussion of experts with a focus on moving towards a harmonized framework for safe new and used vehicles for Africa.
36. The second side event on Automation, Connectivity and E-mobility, consisted of two expert round tables, highlighting the transformations that would form the future of mobility, in terms of performance, use and ownership as well as impact on the society and climate. The expert roundtables also explored the role of industries, their achievements and future contributions towards circularity in E-mobility. The secretariat also hosted an exhibition and a demonstration which show-cased activities of institutions related to the theme of the side event on Automation, Connectivity and E-mobility.
37. The secretariat informed WP.29 that ITC report would provide details on the outcomes of the side events in its annex and all the presentations would be provided on the dedicated websites of each side event.